On Sunday, postal workers and letter carriers gathered at the Santa Maria Post Office to take a stand against changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS).
The local protesters joined nearly 300,000 letter carriers nationwide who participated in demonstrations on Sunday, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers.
The workers are rallying against the Trump administration's efforts to privatize or restructure USPS, which organizers say would jeopardize the jobs of nearly 8 million people, reduce services to 50 million households, and raise shipping costs for consumers.
Andy Gaytan, the executive vice president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 52, told KSBY that the concern is widespread.
"It's not a partisan issue, it's not about politics, it's about servicing the American people and making sure that we give the service that they deserve," Gaytan said.
At the Santa Maria rally, several agencies showed up to support the letter carriers as they held signs and chanted on the sidewalk.
"We do have, you know, people from the firefighter's union out here. We've got people from [the] American Postal Workers Union supporting the cause. And at the end of the day, it's all about the community, informing the community about what services we provide and the importance of keeping it as the service that it currently is right now," Gaytan said.
The National Association of Letter Carriers says Sunday's demonstrations are part of an ongoing fight to protect the jobs of 640,000 USPS employees.
